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Message no. 1
From: Gregory Reade <readeg@***.GOV>
Subject: Re: NERPS: Shadows of the Mind
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 1995 09:43:20 EST
Text item: Text_1


Perhaps this has come up before but has anyone taken a gander at the
playtest version of NAGM? It addresses Psionics as being
misunderstood or highly specialized Magic. Nothing more or really
different than the spells already used by some mages. Obviously new
spells can be made to mimick the classic and not-so-classic psionic
powers.

Just curious to see if this has been considered...


Gregory
Message no. 2
From: "Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject: Re: NERPS: Shadows of the Mind
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 1995 12:36:48 -0600
On Thu, 2 Feb 1995, Gregory Reade wrote:

[deletia]

> Just curious to see if this has been considered...

Yes, and we say FASA is wrong. Their scientists disagree with our
scientists and we're now going to have a pissing contest to see who's
scientists win.

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> I am Pentium of Borg
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> you will be approximated
Message no. 3
From: Gregory Reade <readeg@***.GOV>
Subject: Re[2]: NERPS: Shadows of the Mind
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 1995 15:56:08 EST
>Yes, and we say FASA is wrong. Their scientists disagree with our
>scientists and we're now going to have a pissing contest to see who's
>scientists win.

> Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu


Coolness! Does this mean the Mages and Psionicists can duke it out in a
controlled laboratory setting to measure the type of power used under duress?

Gregory
Message no. 4
From: "Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Re[2]: NERPS: Shadows of the Mind
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 1995 15:19:41 -0600
On Thu, 2 Feb 1995, Gregory Reade wrote:

> Coolness! Does this mean the Mages and Psionicists can duke it out in a
> controlled laboratory setting to measure the type of power used under duress?

You bet. Anybody wanna do a fictional writeup for it?

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> I am Pentium of Borg
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> you will be approximated
Message no. 5
From: "Brett H. Barnhart" <bhbarnha@**********.ORG>
Subject: NERPS:Shadows of the mind...
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 1995 15:23:21 -0500
I just got a copy of the current Shadows of the Mind, and I have
a few questions. (I know they have probably been discussed, but I found
no mention of them in the book).

I see that different cyberware has a Psi cost. Does that mean that having
the gear subtracts from the Psionic potential? Also, does that mean that
there is another attribute for Psionics that starts out at 6, but goes
down from cyberware?
I know that is what makes sense, but the guide makes no mention
of it.

Also, what are the costs from using Psionics? Does the user have
to resist a mental wound as spell caster would or is there another limit?

It would make sense to me to have the system work similiarly to magic.
You have a Psionic Attribute which determines your base number of dice to
roll to determine the number of successes. Then, your Psionic Pool could
be used to augment those tests.
Or, does your Psionic Manipulation skill determine the number of
dice to be used for a given Discipline? Again, your Psionic Pool would
determine any extra dice which could be used.

And, why not use specializations for individual powers and
concentrations for Disciplines?
I know that these questions have to have already tought out
answers, afterall, they are the base for the entire system. It's just
that the book was very vague or didn't discuss them at all.
Perhaps the different disciplines would use a different attribute
for the number of dice. For instance, Psychometabolism might use Body,
while Clairvoyance uses Intelligence, and Divining would use Willpower.
I don't know, just thoughts. :)
The Shadow
Message no. 6
From: "J.D. Falk" <jdfalk@****.COM>
Subject: Re: NERPS:Shadows of the mind...
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 00:17:38 -0400
On Sun, 9 Apr 1995, Brett H. Barnhart wrote:

> I see that different cyberware has a Psi cost. Does that mean that having
> the gear subtracts from the Psionic potential? Also, does that mean that
> there is another attribute for Psionics that starts out at 6, but goes
> down from cyberware?

That's what we call the Skirvin Rule, because Tim Skirvin wanted
so badly to get it included. *grin*
If I remember correctly, this attribute is just like essence when
you start out; however, it should be recorded seperately. That's the
main reason that so many people disliked the idea, and thus it was
marked Very Optional.

> Also, what are the costs from using Psionics? Does the user have
> to resist a mental wound as spell caster would or is there another limit?

Yes, drain works the same, but if I remember correctly we never
came up with much in the way of standards for it.

[stuff about attributes, etc.]

Damned if I remember. *grin* The discussions themselves are
archived in the file psionics.zip, avaliable either on my Web page or via
FTP at cais.com in /pub/jdfalk/nerps-proj/.

-------------========== J.D. Falk <jdfalk@****.com> =========-------------
| "We're not mental or anything, so don't be afraid." |
| -Mike Meyers as Wayne Campbell in "Wayne's World" |
--------========== http://www.cais.com/jdfalk/home.html ==========--------
Message no. 7
From: Tim Skirvin <tskirvin@***.UIUC.EDU>
Subject: Re: NERPS:Shadows of the mind...
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 11:04:58 -0500
Yes, I admit it...I went ahead and wrote up that big clunky
chart, because at the time I didn't have anything better to do, and I still
say the rules are good...

<grin>

The main idea of the whole Psi cost was that some 'ware stuff is
intrusive in different ways than others. For instance, adding a cyberarm
shouldn't hurt your ability to do Psi stuff, but maybe it should mess up
your magic. Whatever.

Were we going to put in a "mega-optional" disclaimer in there?

--
Tim Skirvin (tskirvin@****.edu)
Message no. 8
From: "J.D. Falk" <jdfalk@****.COM>
Subject: Re: NERPS:Shadows of the mind...
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 20:24:53 -0400
On Mon, 10 Apr 1995, Tim Skirvin wrote:

> Were we going to put in a "mega-optional" disclaimer in there?

If I remember correctly, the general consensus was that your
reasons all made sense but the extra complication of another, parallel
Essence attribute wasn't worth the trouble. So, we decided to go ahead
and include it but mention that the rest of the rules work just fine even
if you want to skip that part.

-------------========== J.D. Falk <jdfalk@****.com> =========-------------
| "Peace, love, empathy." |
| --Last words from Kurt Cobain to his fans |
--------========== http://www.cais.com/jdfalk/home.html ==========--------

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